Cincinnati names don't get much more famous than William Howard Taft. And that name recently turned up scrawled on a long-lost legal document.
Taft is still the only American to serve as both president and chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. But back in 1884, he was just a fledgling attorney. That's when he signed documents for a civil suit he was trying in front of the now-defunct Superior Court of Ohio's Cincinnati location.
The document is dated July 25, 1884, just months after Hamilton County's courthouse burned in a multi-day riot.
Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Central Services Director Jason Alexander has been on the lookout for the historic signature since a trove of documents predating the infamous 1884 courthouse riots and fire surfaced two years ago.
"The holy grail I've been searching for since 2022 was the William Howard Taft signature," he says. "About two weeks ago we actually found that."
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The stash of documents where Alexander discovered the signature was slated to be destroyed decades ago, but managed to survive and were hidden in storage until recently. Those records were at the University of Cincinnati until Alexander requested them. He says it's extremely fortuitous they included Taft's signature.
"What's amazing to think about is — not only was there only one box of Superior Court case files out there from pre-1900, when you look at William Howard Taft's career, he only practiced law for a very short time," Alexander says. "To have William Howard Taft's signature on that (document), all the stars aligned."
Alexander says the find is headed for preservation and display.
"We have a great partnership with the (Cincinnati and Hamilton County) Public Library," he says. "They're in the process of taking a high-quality, high-resolution scan for us. After that, we're working a temporary loan agreement out with the National Parks Service. The William Howard Taft Birthplace wants to house on a temporary basis the signature."